Toy crocodile



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 slnsinua I F. E. THOMAS TOY cRoCoDILE Sept. 14, 1943.

Filed July 1s, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mvwn. mkwt: ,wm f

Patented Sept. 14, 1.943

` 2,329,564 'h l TTIOY jGROC'mLE,

i lIa'rank nfrhoms, ohicaga1112.v

2Q vAppl'indian July is, 1942A,l seriai No. 451,338

tonnes. (01; 46-123) lfflllviyinvention relates to toy crocodiles, and has f oron'elof its objects the makingof a miniature animal' of thev aforementioned character;l it be-` ing made of such construction as to permit the toy to be animated and simulate theY creep of a crocodile, Iinother words, providing as Well, amphibiany` animationpadapting the said, toy for movement onrland as well as in Water. v e,

One Yobjee'tA of `my invention is toA provide a toy of the aforementioned ycharacter which in addition to movement on the ground or water will also. openits vmouth kand Awag its tail Whiley in motion ythus simulating the movements of an animal of this type.

" Another object of my invention is to provide an animated toy crocodile which is adapted to move on land and be partially submerged below the surface ofwater; the toy being adapted to haveits mechanism charged so that when it is rele'ase'id.` on thefedgerv of Va pond it will continue its' motion on the shore and if directed toward the'w'at'er in the pond will continue its `movement partially submerged below thesurfaceo the said pondlf Y p ''Anotherobject of my yinvention is to provide afnovel propeller means which functions as a governor for thel spring motivated means when the device is moving on the ground asa supportingysur'face and y'which acts as a propeller when the" devicefis ,motivate'd ata submerged depth below the surface of a'liqud. Another and further object'4 of my invention is toprov'ide cam actuated leg motivating means synchronized with the movement of the head and invention'l theruobjeots, features -andJ advantages resident inmy invention Will-become apparent -from exposethe operating combination of elements comprising-my invention; ,y n

jf'Fig; 3gis' an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view in 'order'fto expose the structural ele'- 'nents `comprising myinver'ition-ly I -Fig. 4. is a cross-sectional View on the line lf-4 et Figuredzushowing 4in-j enlargement the 'earn thtailjof thefasaid toy crocodile comprising my structure necessary .to provide mobility to my invention.

Fig. 5- is a longitudinal cross-sectional view on lthe line 5-5-of Figure 4.

Fig. 6 is a staggered transversal cross-sectional View on the line 6 6 of Figure`2.-

Fig.A 7 isa fragmentary transversal cross-.sec-

tional view on the linev 1--1 of Figure 3. Y

Referring to the various views 'on the draw,- ings, 8 generally, designates myinvention, .it being comprised of Aa body element or structure 9, a movable upperhead element le, and a swivelable tail element. or structure Il. In Figure l; l2 represents the bank or shore of a pond and I4 represents the liquid or water inthe pond,the bed of the pond being, generally, designated l5 if lit be one `thattds-artificial or rather shallow in nature so Vas togpermit thetype of toyrucomprising myginvention to complement its propulsion thru the Water by the propeller meansas well as the movement of the legs operating ion the bed l5-ofl thcpond; if the pond is much deeper, then the amphibian structure Ycomprising vmy invention will be partially submerged as shown in Figure l, andk float approximately in that position partly above the surface 8E) so that the legV movement, will simulate travel or swimmingaction Whenrin reality' the propulsion will be efected by the propeller means.v i

1UThe structural elements comprising the kmotivating means and 4,the operative means will be further elucidated inthe :description of thefvarious other sectional views representing the drawings yto fully elucidate `the operation of my invention.f Y l.

A'The movable part yof thel head member l0 is made to represent the greatest portion of the head including theupper jaw and is provided with a suitable lug to permit the same to be pivoted at l1 `withinfthe body structure, generally, designated 9. The lower part of the jaw may be part of the body and may be constructed so that water will notenter within and thus keep the inner compartment free. from Water. The up,

.per jaw moves with respect tov the lower or'stationary jaw 52, thefupper jaw being provided with a centrallug portion 55, the lower jaw with a central lugfportion 54, and ,a spring 53 anchored at the lug portions li4/and 55 respectively, which has a tendency to keep the upper jaw in openV position. Theolosing of the jaw at predetermined intervalsis caused by the rotation of the gear element 22 which hasy a cam protuberance thereon 82 whichbumps or intermittently causes `the extension 8|v to be moved" upward to the dotted position thus closing the jaws of the crocodile.

Motion to the toy is imparted by a spring motor made up by enclosing within the body 9 bevel gears 22 and 25 meshing with one another at right angles. Bevel gear 25 is mounted on a shaft 29 which is journaled within the bearings 36, 35 and 34 and 92. In between the bearing portions 34 and 35 the shaft has mounted thereon the propeller 3| having the hub 33, `the ;pin l3'2 being driven thru the shaft and propeller hub to secure the same integrally therewith. On the side 88 with the hub portion 92 and adjacent ,w its surface is mounted the gear 25 having a rather lengthy hub extension 26 into which `a cam groove 21 is cut, the cam groove Vbeing 'of to the arms 62 of the H element; the portion 63 of thelegs being provided with suitable slots 68 to provide for the lost motion necessary when the H element 6D slides from left to right in view of the fact that the legs are pivotably secured at 61. The movement of the H element by virtue of the extension 58 and the cam 21 which cause the H element to move from left to right and back to its original positiony comprising a cycle :of lmovement in :one rdirection and then a 'returnmovement causing'lthelegs to move arcuately as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 2.

., The slot 59 is a guide slot as Well as a clearance slot for the shaft and so as not to intera ffere with its movement. The H element is also l Lprovided with hub extensions 69 integral with the a helical type in order to provide certain slidable movement to the roller 56 engaging'th'e'rein. The

gear is secured integrally to the shaft w29 -by virtue of the pin 28. The bevel gear 22 is provided with a-hub portion v23 secured to thelshaft 28 by virtue of a pin 24. The shaft is suitably journaled in a suitably recessed bearing por-'tion in the body at the top fand 'bottom vso as -to iconfine the same to rotary movement. l

The upper portion :ofthe body is counter-sunk as at I8 in order lto lpermit sufficient clearance.

for a key Whichis to engage the square shank I9 of the shaft v2l) when Lit-is desired to Wind up the spring element5. One'end of the nat spring element 50 is connected to Athe centerv of the shaft'at 15|, the other end l48 of the spr-ingbeing anchored to the bodyvat 48, so .that when this shaft is 'rotated in 'one direction the `spring -is placed under tension and charged `,with potential `energy, hence, when it is released it will cause the gearing to operate'the various mechanism to which it is connected in the opposed direction to provide-the function and animation necessary.

Between the hub r23 of the gear 22 and the body 9, a gasket 2|, of resilient material vcir-cork, is secured 'in order toprevent leakage f any Water into the body and int'o the compartment of the body, inoth'e'r words, to prevent the 'compartment from becoming lled with Water. -lAt site sides as shown inFigure-'fltwofcam hubs-12 portion 6 l' at its ends into which are driven shafts or pins -1-'0 iandfon which are mounted the roller bearings their province being to operate in the race-way 13 of the cam. When the extension 58 "causes the H element 'to move ffrom'left to right and *back to Vits original position, the rollers -1'l are causedtomove in1thetrac`kWayof the cam G3; l I

When tli'e lroller 'fis in 4the J'position shown nin Figure 4, it lis 'ready :to move in fa' direction 'that is icounterclockwise it 'will continue to move until the roller 15| reaches vthe pr'otuberance 16. It is ito lbe noted that the porltion-58 Vbeing of a springy nature -is `caused to 4be deflected' below the normal-levelshown'bythe dotted 'lines 58 in Figure '3, so lthat Whenthe roller :1I reaches "the are provided which have a race-Wayland -afcentral paralleligramic section l-14 vhaving fthe points 15 and 16 which are 'necessary in order Ito pro-V vide 'the movement to `the vlegs, 1 generally, *designated 63. The legs areconnecte'dtoan Hfor-med structure having arms 62 interconnected byi'th'e central portion 6I from which emanates the-'portion 58 provided Witha slot59 providingfsuiiicient clearance around'theshaftlZD'yvhen the fH member is moved v4from left fto Vri'glritasfin'dicated by'l dotted lines in Figure 2*. l

The portion 58 haslsecured v-at -its terminus the shoulder stud I51 having 'the roller poi-tion 56 which engages the `A`helical cam Vcurve 21 heretofore mentioned and explained. The 'element 58 is suitably supported 'by -the hub-like portion 186 having ja recessltherein i581 within protuberance `16the spring tension of 58 will cause the roller to rise to the l'dotted position indicated, thence-on vits further-and continued travel to theile'ftfthe roller '1l is caused to 'move to zthe lleft and `will ride on the upper yportion of track-way'13, until it reaches "the "protuber- 'ance '15 w"hich'will permit Athe roller to fall down and l"follow the inclinese'of 'the lparallelogramic structure, thus confining 'its ypathor orbit /within the race-,way :13.

' This movement-imparts to the 'legs 'an i arcuate movement as indicated in the full and .dotted lines in Figure -2-causingthe legs "at `the same time tomove-up anddown'on the studor )guide 61, ithus causing the -legs to contact 'the .ground surface 1l and thus i propel the 'figure forward on thefgroun'dland then "releasetthe sameto reston the Vrollers`19. 'The rollers'larefpositioned'on an imaginary surface '18 'abovetheground -surface Tlfso that if any' momentum 'is'acquiredit is imparted to ftheflg'ure 'resulting in further motion when the legs aref out-`of-eontact Lwith the Vground surface; the v'figure' being further caused to move along by virtue of the momentum imparting rnoti'ontoitlie.rollersiky I '.It'zis tonbe :notedlthatlwhenf-the "figure is? yoper-- ated von rfa f land 'zsurface or V:groundsurface, fthe propeller blades I, Ewillimpart 'fa governing action .to Ethel' mechanism :and ithuslthe lpropeller blades rotating thru the -air Ywill xtendto govern and regulate AAthe action ,fof --the gearing `Tlrlech" anism and the spring.v Whenthewtoy is lfloated or partially.submergedwithinavessel ornin a pond, the .propellenbladesf 3 I rwillriotzsonly 'govern or regulate the action Yorfmovement .of fthe gears andisprin'g 'mechanism,lbut nvvill also tend to "propel the" toy forwardin the liquid.-

The open areav 30 within whichLthepropeller is -enfined Uarrdthe tapered section"'89 which forms al housing for the *knuckleportion 'afford propulsion to-th'etoyi'byfvirtue'fthe Water being 1=pushdd rearwardly. ,The i tail element ""l l pivtabiy supportedJbetween-'portions 3'1an'd 38 which is a water-tight nt against the surface 9| is caused to move as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 2, while the shaft 29is rotating. The action is performed by virtue of the tail having a hub-like connection designated 4| with an opening A .cam @it rotating withirn the recess 42 causes the tail to be oscillated upon the stud 39 which is secured to the body 9 as indicated, and the tail hub 4l is provided with two lugs 93 which pivotably operate on the stud 39 and at the same time-rest on therlug support 40. The tail 4l by means of web 46 'connecting it to the hub 4l is caused to oscillate sideways as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 2.

The cam 43 has a hub portion 44 which is secured to the shaft 29 by virtue of the pin 45, thus it can be seen that once the spring 5U is en'- ergzed (while charging the same the propeller 3l may be held by the lingers of one hand so as to controlfreverse rotation)and afterward the device may be released on the ground whence the cam 2l will impart a sliding movement to the eX- tension 58 of the H element 60, thus causing the same to have its rollers 1I- to follow the orbit of the race-way 13 and thus impart to the legs a radial movement affording at the same time contact with the ground, or a radial movement in one direction causing the toy to move, and an idling movement for the remainder of the cycle bringing the legs back to normal and out of contact with the ground surface. Simultaneously with this action, the tail element will be caused to move sideways intermittently and the upper part of the head including the upper jaw will be closed and opened intermittently thus simulating the natural actions of the animal which this toy represents in animated form.

The compartment 4T within the tail section,

it and make it more buoyant. The studs 61 are` secured in place by the lug extensions 84 and 85 within the body 9 and permit the legs to pivotably operate thereupon as Well as to slide thereupon in an up and down direction.

The entire structure may be covered with cork pulp and made to resemble the scaly anatomy 83 of such animals.

I believe I have described rather succinctly the nature of the construction and operation of my invention in order to enable those familiar with the art to practice my invention, and inasmuch as it may be susceptible of various modifications, alterations and improvements, I reserve the right to all such modifications, alterations and improvements which come within the scope and spirit of my invention, and within the purview of the accompanying drawings and the foregoing description; my invention to be limited only to the subjoined or appended claims;

Having thus described and revealed my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A device of the character described comprising, a body having an open recess, prime motivating means `mounted in said body, propeller means mounted on said prime motivating means and within the kopen recess in said body, and leg means articulately secured to said body intermediate their ends and adapted to slidable movement vertically, the inner ends of said leg means artculately secured to saidmotivating means.

2. A device of the character described comprising, a body having an openrecess, prime motivating means-mounted in said body, propeller means mounted on said prime motivating means and Within the open recess in said body, leg means articulately secured to said body intermediate their ends and adapted to slidable movement vertical-ly, the inner ends of said leg means articulately secured to said prime motivating means, and head means articulately secured to said body and adapted to move pivotally in a vertical direction.

3. A device of the character described comprising, a body'having an open recess, prime motivating means mounted in said body, propeller means mounted on said primev motivating means and within the open recess in said body, leg means articulately secured to said body intermediate their ends and adapted to slidable movement vertically, the inner ends of said leg means articulately secured to said prime motivatingmeans, head means articulately secured to said body and adapted to move pivotally in a vertical direction, and tail means articulately secured to said body means and adapted to move intermittently in a direction transverse to the movement of the said head means.

4. A device of the character described comprising, body means, prime motivating means confined within said body means, head means. articuhead means and the said tail means adapted to be intermittently` operated by the said prime motivating means, leg means articulately secured to said body means, and parallelogramic cam means associated with said leg means.

5. A device of the character described comprising, body means, prime motivating means confined within said body means, head means articulately secured to said body means, tail means articulately secured to said body means, the said head means and the said Vtail means adapted to be intermittently operated by the said` prime motivating means, leg means articulately secured to said body means, and parallelogramic cam means associated with said legmeans, the said prime motivating means' adapted to propel the said device in an air medium and a liquid medium.

6. A device of the character described comprising, body means, prime motivating means conned within said body means, head means articuy lately secured to `said body means, tail means articulately secured to said body means, the said head means and the said tail means adapted to be intermittently operated by the said prime motivating means, leg means articulately secured to said body means, and parallelogramic cam means associated with said leg means, the said motivating means adapted to propel the said'device in' FRANK E. THOMAS. 

